Articles tagged "manners"

In the tradition of all Good Southern Grandmothers (GSG), my piano teacher forced me into an etiquette lesson once a week, every week, for twelve years. The fact that I was there for piano lessons and that she was not actually my grandmother did not matter a bit. She was a GSG and so all of her students were hauled kicking and screaming into her school of elegant manners. (Later we learned that the proper way to decline is “No thank you, ma’am.” not that it would have made a difference.)

Over the years I learned everything from posture and poise, to setting a table and serving punch, to writing timely and thoughtful thank you notes. (I also learned how to play the piano, but that’s another blog post.) But recently I have found an etiquette void- The Internet. Blogs, email, messaging, forums… they are all so informal and deliciously anonymous. It is easy to forget your manners, or heaven forbid not know what the manners are at all!!

Fortunately, Lulu is here to help you fill in the gaps where Emily Post and GSG left off.

If all else fails, treat people how you would like to be treated, and do not behave any worse online than you would in person. You’ll be just fine.

Happy reading, and remember – as all GSG will tell you- the point of manners is not to give you mindless rules, but to make everyone else around you as welcome and comfortable as possible.